1978 Aquaman cover resurfaces online

X user jm_meunier resurfaced a 1978 *Aquaman* cover on September 7, sending a Bronze Age DC image back through social feeds within the last two days. The image focused on a cover scene built around Ocean Master and an unlikely weapon: what readers online described as a shower-head flamethrower. The comic was *Aquaman* #63, according to DC’s own series listing and the Grand Comics Database. The issue was the last numbered installment of DC’s revived 1970s *Aquaman* run. ### Which comic was it exactly? *Aquaman* #63 was published by DC with an August-September 1978 cover date, the Grand Comics Database says. The database lists the issue as a 36-page comic priced at 35 cents and gives an on-sale date of May 16, 1978. DC Universe Infinite lists the same issue in the *Aquaman (1962-1978)* series and dates it August 2, 1978. (comics.org) Jim Aparo drew the cover, according to the Grand Comics Database. The interior story, “My Brother’s Keeper,” was scripted by Paul Kupperberg, penciled by Don Newton and inked by Dave Hunt, with colors by Adrienne Roy and letters by Clem Robins. ### Was the bizarre weapon actually part of the story? The Grand Comics Database synopsis says *Aquaman* #63 centers on Aquaman battling Ocean Master, who is trying to recover “an ancient Atlantean weapon” from ruins beneath Atlantis. (comics.org) The resurfaced image drew attention to the cover’s visual treatment of that weapon, which social users described as a shower-head flamethrower, but the cataloged synopsis identifies it more broadly as Atlantean weaponry tied to Ocean Master’s plot. Ocean Master, listed in the issue credits as Orm Marius, appears on both the cover and in the story credits. The same entry also lists Aquaman, Mera and Aqualad among the issue’s characters. ### Why did this one travel online now? The September 7 X post appears to have revived interest because the cover image is visually specific and easy to read out of context. (comics.org) The social briefing supplied for this story described the conversation as focused on the cover art and the unusual weapon concept rather than on a broader publishing announcement. No new DC release or reprint announcement appears tied to the latest circulation. Instead, the renewed attention came from a user resurfacing an older cover image, a common pattern for comics posts that spotlight odd Bronze Age premises or out-of-context cover copy. That inference is based on the timing of the X circulation and the lack of any new publication event in DC’s series listing. (comics.org) ### Where does Aquaman #63 sit in DC history? DC’s *Aquaman* series originally ran through issue #56 in 1971, then returned in 1977 while keeping the same numbering, according to DC Database. That run ended with issue #63, which the database identifies as one of the titles caught in the “DC Implosion,” the publisher’s 1978 line contraction. (dcuniverseinfinite.com) The issue was later reprinted several times, the Grand Comics Database says, including in *Aquaman: Death of a Prince* in 2011 and *Aquaman: The Death of a Prince Deluxe Edition* in 2020. That means the cover now circulating is attached to a comic that has remained visible in later collected editions even after the original series ended. (dc.fandom.com) ### Can readers still find the issue? DC Universe Infinite currently lists *Aquaman* #63 in its archive of the 1962-1978 series. The Grand Comics Database also maintains a full issue record with creator credits, cover data and reprint history. The next stop for readers who want the exact artifact is the issue record for *Aquaman* #63, dated August-September 1978 by the Grand Comics Database and August 2, 1978 by DC Universe Infinite. (comics.org)